Chapter 188
Chapter 188
"Back then, I had no idea what was in my head. But now? I can tell you exactly what's in there—me. Just me." I looked at Gabriel with a slight smile.
"You're hopeless."
Gabriel turned and left.
"Hopeless?"
I repeated the word under my breath. Wasn't I hopeless once too? Hopelessly in love with him?
Frustrated, I turned to head upstairs—only to find Nason waiting at my door.
I let out a laugh. My place was apparently the hot spot tonight.
I looked up at Nason. "What's up?"
Ever since that fight between him and Gabriel—and the things he'd said—Nason and I hadn't been in much contact.
"Did you know Steven's been trying to reach you?" Nason said slowly. The exact same thing Gabriel had just told me downstairs.
I nodded. "Yeah, Gabriel just mentioned it."
"He came looking for you again?" At the mention of Gabriel's name, Nason frowned slightly.
"Probably playing messenger for Steven. I don't know when Mr. Ice King got so charitable," I said with a smirk.
"You blocked Steven?" Nason got straight to the point.
I nodded. "Yeah, I did. Steven's a good guy. I shouldn't have strung him along."
Then I looked at Nason directly. "Just tell him I'm abroad. And if he needs anything while I'm gone, could you help him out?"
Nason looked genuinely surprised. "You're asking me to look after him?"
"Mr. Miles, you're so kind-hearted. You wouldn't even hurt a stray cat or dog. Surely you wouldn't hurt a guy either, right?" I laid on the guilt trip thick.
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Finally, Nason spoke. "I barely know him. Why should I?"
"Because you'd be helping me."
I cut him off and looked up at him.
"Don't worry, I won't ask for free. I'll pay you back somehow." I made the promise even though I had no idea how I'd actually repay him.
Of course, Nason wasn't easily fooled. He asked directly, "So how exactly are you planning to repay me?"
That left me speechless. What was I supposed to say? That I'd help him win over Azure?
Yeah, no. Azure wasn't a good person. Doing that would be like pushing Nason into a pit of fire. And more importantly, I didn't want anything more to do with her. I wanted zero connection to that mess.
"I know you like Azure, but I'm telling you as your friend—that woman is bad news. So just let Gabriel and that two-faced snake be perfect for each other."
Nason laughed at my words.
He looked at me, bemused. "Ember, I've been curious about something for a while now. Why do you keep saying I like Azure?"
I stared at Nason, suddenly feeling like something was different from my past life.
"So you don't like her?"
When in doubt, just ask directly.
"Of course not. I've never liked her. Not once," Nason said firmly.
I was a little shocked. "But you told me before that you had feelings for someone but couldn't pursue her. Wasn't that girl Azure?"
"Why would it have to be her? Why couldn't it be you?" Nason looked at me seriously.
I stood there frozen.
Last time, when he and Gabriel fought, I'd thought Nason was just saying things to piss Gabriel off. That he was trying to defend me.
"So when you said you couldn't pursue her, was it because I was still Mrs. Sinclair?" I asked hesitantly.
Suddenly I remembered months ago when Ceria had said to me, dead serious: "Ember, why do I feel like Nason's into you?"
Turns out she'd been right all along.
So had my rebirth changed everything?
A million questions exploded in my head.
Seeing me standing there in stunned silence, Nason smiled slightly. "Ember, did I scare you?"
"I was just giving you an example," Nason said with a laugh.
Just an example. Right.
Hearing him say that, I finally let out a long breath of relief.
But my doubts didn't completely disappear. There was a good chance Nason had noticed my discomfort and made up an excuse to smooth things over.
"So can you please stop saying I like that woman? I'm really not interested in her at all." Nason looked at me helplessly.
"Okay. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
After chatting for a few more minutes, I got a call from the hospital reminding me to come in for a prenatal checkup.
"I'll drive you. You're pregnant—you shouldn't overdo it," Nason offered.
I couldn't think of a reason to refuse, so I agreed.
---
At the hospital, the doctor patiently examined me and told me I needed to eat more. If the mother was too thin, the baby wouldn't get enough nutrition. I nodded to show I understood.
When I got home, Ceria called.
She told me Gabriel had shifted a significant portion of his business operations abroad.
Ceria was furious on the other end. "That bastard Gabriel is really going all out for that bitch. What a joke."
I laughed, trying to calm her down. "It's not a big deal. You know Gabriel—when he goes after a girl, he goes all in. He's never subtle about it."
"Ember, I feel so bad for you. All those wasted years."
"At least I didn't keep making the same mistake, right?" I tried to console her.
"I guess you're taking this pretty well," Ceria said, still sounding exasperated.
"Want to hear some juicy gossip though?"
I made my voice all mysterious, successfully piquing Ceria's curiosity.
"What gossip?"
I told her everything about Sandra and Samantha.
"That's insane! Even soap operas wouldn't go that far!" Ceria shrieked.
Then she sounded almost gleeful. "So Azure's just a replacement too, huh?"
But then her tone shifted to sympathy. "So what were you all those years?"
I laughed and typed out a text to send her.
[Honestly? I do have some regrets. But if I hadn't married him back then, I think I would've regretted that too. Some things you're just meant to go through.]
Still, Gabriel suddenly moving his operations abroad was annoying.
Azure and I worked at the same company now. We were bound to run into each other constantly. My belly was getting bigger. If she didn't leave soon, someone would notice eventually.